Employers Rate Competencies, Students’ Career Readiness

Employers rating the eight competencies NACE has associated with career readiness in terms of essential need in the scope of hiring new college graduates put “critical thinking/problem solving” and “professionalism/work ethic” on top, according to results of Job Outlook 2017 survey.

However, this same group of employers rated students most proficient in “teamwork/collaboration” and “digital technology.”

For the third time since employers have been asked to provide these ratings, they rated “critical think/problem solving” the most essential competency. (See Figure 1.) “Professionalism/work ethic” is rated second highest.

“Oral/written communications” and “teamwork/collaboration” are rated equally. (Note: The preference for teamwork was also indicated elsewhere in the Job Outlook 2017 report as 78 percent of employers cited teamwork as the most important attribute on a candidate’s resume.)

“Leadership,” “digital technology,” and “career management” were somewhat essential in terms of rating; respondents rated “global/intercultural fluency” as just less than somewhat essential in terms of need.

In terms of proficiency, recent graduates come closest to the “very proficient” rating in just two competencies—“teamwork/collaboration” and “digital technology.” (See Figure 2.) The rating for “critical thinking/problem solving” trailed slightly.

Based on a 5-point scale where 1=Not at all proficient; 2=Not very proficient; 3=Somewhat proficient; 4=Very proficient; 5=Extremely proficient. Source: Job Outlook 2017, National Association of Colleges and Employers